Land-torpedo.



v. A. VILLAR L s, c. TALBOT.

LAND TOBPEDO.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. I3, 1915.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

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vrcTOnl A. vrLLAR, or NEW YORK, N. Y., AND STAFFORD c. TALBOT, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

LAND-TORPEDO.

specification of Letters Patent.

. Applicaticn led November 13 191.5. Serial No. 61,307.

To all whom 'it may 'concern Be it known that we, VICTOR A. VILLAR, a citizen of the AUnited States, and residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, and STAFFORD C. TALBOT, a subjectof theKing of Great Britain,"and residing at London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Land-Torpedoes, of which cation. n This invention relates to implements of thefollowing is a specifiwar, and thefobject .thereof is to provide means which may be usedeither in an o'ensive or in a defensive manner but which are primarily Adesigned Ifor preparingv a way along an impededfrontfor a charge by an offensive force upon .an lentrenched force,

and which preparationis' accomplished without casualties'to the' former.'

In modern warfare one ofthe main factors of defense consists of entanglements arranged in the path of an attacking force to prevent a charge in force and .to delay or prevent progress.

It is the present practice to manually hack a way through these entanglements, with the consequent loss of life or limb, or else to bombard the entanglements from a distance, the latter being slow, costly, and highly uncertain in view of the fact that such entanglements are usually formed of barbed wirevarranged along a considerable front, either strung along Aposts or strewn over the ground in a twisted or snarled state, and artillery projectiles pass therethrough Without being exploded.

This device contemplates the transportation of an explosive charge directly to the desired point of damage to the obstructions by automatic means and exploding the charge only when properly located, thus' causing a breach or gap 'of a Width and depth determined by the force of the ex plosion and through 'which gap the attack-v.

It is further contemplated to r'ovide means at a' safe distance forexploding the charge, for controlling the motor, and for the recovery of the implement if, for any. reason, such recovery. is desired, and' also to.

construct the implement of such materials and in such a manner as to not entail a ma` terial financial loss in the destruction of the implement when the explosive charge carried thereby is iired.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which like characters refer to like parts in each of the views, and in which Figure l is a side view of the invention in exploding position, showing the entanglements which it is desired to destroy, and showing the control and recovery means for the invention; Fig. 2 .is an enlarged longitudinal central section taken through the invention; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the invention, partly in section.

In the drawings forming a part of this application is shown a 'simple embodiment 'of the invention, comprisin a vehicle 4 carrying amotor 5 connecte with a suitratemee aan. e, isis. I

able source` of energy 6, an explosive conn sprocket wheels 4e at the ends thereof and the respective sprockets are joined by sprocket-chains 4f, all of the wheels being thus actuated simultaneously and similarly. This dufplicate arrangement of sprocketvchains is provided to guard against disabling of the device in the event of one of said chains being damaged byl a riie ball.

The motor 5 is shown as of two-cylinder, horizontal, steam engine type, the connecting rods of which arel operatively joined to a shaft 5l carrying a spur-pinion 5b enmeshed with a spur-gear 5 upon the rear J axle 4. The cylinders of the engine are connected with the boiler 6 by means of a supply pipe 5d having a control valve 5 therein provided with a handle'f, and it will thus'.

be Seen that the speed of the engine may be controlled and thus place the speed of the vehicle under control.` No engine reverse 1s contemplated at this time, as it is desired to manufacture. the device in as simple and economical a form as possible, but such mechanismcould be provided if desired according to the contemplated use of the implement.

The boiler 6 may be of any desired type and be provided with a fire-box and stack,

not shown, or a tank for compressed air might be substituted for the steam boiler, these features being determined according to the contemplated use of the implement, and the estimated range vof action "thereof, or a' storage battery might be substituted for the boiler and an electric motor be substituted for the engine shown, the intent being to lprovide av simple and inexpensive automo ile for transporting'the charge in the container 7 to the point of use. l

The container 7 will be made of suicient strength to withstand rifle re, vas there is little likelihood that the enemy could train artillery on the device in the brief period during which it is exposed and ,at the high speed at which it is designed to drive it, but the shield 11 is provided for the relatively delicate motor elements.

Theiir'ing line 8 'maybe of the electric type now used in blasting rock, or it may be of lanyard type and used with a primer as some forms of artillery, there being -no fdesire vto limit the invention'to any specific -with a `fixed. part of-the frame 4 and the :rear end thereof maybe wound u on4 a windlass 14 provided with a foot-bra e l15.

In practice, the device is prepared for action in asheltered place, as 1n` the trench to ground level, and

12, and then run u aimed atthe ent-:angv ements 13,- after which the valve 5 may be set at desiredV engine speed and the device moves forwardly.

Traction is assured because of the spiked wheels 4 and the line 8 and cable 9 are fpaid out as required, although the speed o the device may be controlled by means of the cable andfoot-brake 15. If it is found that the device cannot reach the target, because of surface conditions over which it is moving, the cable may be used to close the valve 45e1 and to draw the device back to the trench 12, for aiming in a new direction.

When the device has reached heentanglements 13 the charge in the container 7 is fired through the medium of the line 8, and great destruction of the entanglements results, as several hundreds of pounds of high explosives may be so carried and exploded and, obviously, the device is also destroyed, having fulilled its intent.

As hereinbefore stated, werdo limit ourselves to specific structural details, our only limitation being thatof an automatic@ carrier for an explosive charge, started, controlled, and fired from a pointat a distance from the target, on land. I

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and' desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A device ofthe class described, compris'- ing aframe, front and rear vaxles rotatable therein, spiked wheels fixedv to the respective axles, sprocket 'wheels on said axles, chains connecting the lrespective sprocket wheels, a-

motor for one of said axles, ajshield for said motor, a container for explosives on said frame, and means -`at a distance from saidI device for firingl said explosives.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this speclcatwn in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VICTOR A. VILLAR.

STAFFORD C. TALBOT.v

' 3 Witnesses: l I

` JIC. LAnsEN,

G. H. EMsLm. 

